A Braves Fan Died at Turner Field Last Night

The mother of a Georgia man who died after falling from the upper deck of Turner Field in Atlanta says her son was a lifelong Braves fan who followed the team through losing seasons as well as winning ones.

Ronald Lee Homer Jr., fell about 65 feet at Monday night’s game between the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies, which had been delayed for nearly two hours by heavy rain, authorities said.

Homer, 30, spoke with his mother Connie Homer by cellphone as he and other fans waited for the rain to let up. In that conversation, he said the rain was beginning to slack off and indicated he was preparing to go into the seating area for the game.

“He said ‘I love you mom, and I said ‘I love you too’ and that was it,” his mother said in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday morning.

“He was big hearted, just a great guy, very respectful,” she said. “It didn’t matter if they were winning, losing or what — he’s been a Braves fan forever.”

No foul play is suspected and it’s not known whether alcohol was a factor.

I’m not a heights guy, and this is always one of my greatest fears at sporting events. When you think about it, both in the seating bowl and in the concourse (especially in open-air stadiums like Citizens Bank Park), fans are suspended in some spots more than 100 feet above the ground, often with just a short railing or piece of glass in front of them. That would be crazy in most other scenarios, but we don’t think twice about it at a sporting event, even though a simple stumble can lead to something horrible. Honestly? I’m surprised (but glad) that is doesn’t happen more often.

These new stadiums really are designed poorly with respect to these long drops.
I recall last year there was an incident with Josh Hamilton where he tried to toss a ball to a fan who fell over the edge trying to catch it and he died. Really awful.

Anyone know if it’s worth getting the espn radio app? Need something to listen to from 1-5. Can’t listen to mike miss anymore & wip annoys me. Mike miss’s voice irrates me after his nonstop cooper talk & the cuz is always talking about his kids & now they are always playing clips of old eagles games. ZzzzZzzzzzzzz